Surradi
From Ejor, a 180-mile trip northeast across the Almaaqi Plain leads travelers to Surradi, the City of Spires, capital of the Sultanate (and ancient kingdom) of Chae. The reason for its name is immediately evident: the city's unique metal towers soar towards the sky, gleaming in the sun, sole surviving legacy of the city's unknown previous inhabitants. These ancient, bizarre towers are found nowhere else in the Kaspari Empire. Surradi is actually two cities - one built ages ago by unknown, seemingly inhuman hands, the other having grown up around its base during the modern enlightened age. Surradi is considered by many to be the most magical city in the Kaspari Empire. The city's strange towers attract scientists, alchemists, and thaumaturgists, as well as pragmatists, mystics, scholars, and researchers. The Maupak, Esojen Yain, has set down rules governing the behavior of the tower-lords (e.g., no inter-spire warfare, no experiments that may damage the towers or the city), and violating those rules may be cause for expulsion. Surradi has already lost three towers to such activities. The New City is clustered at the base of the towers, a collection of white-washed, mud-brick houses, much like those found elsewhere in the Kaspari Empire. This is the home of the poor and the middle class, consisting of traders and artisans. Surradi has a thriving business of arts and crafts, catering to the alchemists, who often require the finest materials for their research. The court of Surradi is large and varied. Each power group delegates one representative: thaumaturgists, alchemists, scientists, clergy, craftsmen, traders, and foreigners. There are many other groups and subgroups represented in the court, as well as ambassadors from other cities. Major influences include Wasula, representing the genies; Bolifo Akman, representing the craftsmen; and Nihabi Wulaan, representing all clergy. The Towers Surradi's great mystery is its towers. It is assumed that they were created by some ancient, technologically advanced culture. A few surviving inscriptions from this culture are in an archaic script seen nowhere else in the world. They speak of war, say the sages, between the city dwellers and "those above." The natives evidently lost and abandoned their city. The nature of these original inhabitants is unknown. About 50 of these towers are in evidence, though fully half of them are shattered or toppled. The surviving towers stand almost 100 feet tall. The tops and bottoms are slightly flared, with a long stem in between. The interior of each is an open stairway, spiraling up the inside without a rail, to a great single floor perched at the tower's summit. In the name of the Caliph, the Maupak provides temporary grants for the use of the remaining intact towers. Powerful thaumaturgists, inventors, and alchemists inhabit them, using the towers as research laboratories, libraries, or sanctuaries. A number of tower-lords have removed the tower stairs and remodeled the interiors to their liking. There are only 22 towers (not including the palace), and they are always full, though turnover is regular. Three of the intact towers, arranged like the points of a triangle, have been claimed by the Maupak for her royal palace. All three towers have been joined by a tall, fortified wall linking their fluted bases. With the help of her genie allies, the Maupak has extensively remodeled her palace towers to include lavish living quarters and spectacular, serpentine stairways. Current research suggests that the towers may be the remnant of immense pump-engines designed to extract Earthblood from reservoirs below the city. If so, they are clearly no longer operational, but if a method to get these "pumps" working again could be found, Surradi would become the world's richest city and only exporter of the rare thaumaturgical reagent. Although the infighting between the various towerlords is kept to a minimum thanks to the Maupak's adroit political skills, conflicts between them have lately taken on a covert, secretive nature that in no way diminishes their violence or destructive intensity. Seeking the Maupak's assistance is seen as a sign of weakness, earning the disdain of the other tower-lords. Instead of resorting to cowardice, the powerful tower residents favor protective alliances, assuring that any incursion or insult will be met with swift retribution. Of course, this low-grade conflict is kept strictly out of the public's sight. To her credit, the Maupak is completely aware of the frequent "spats" between the various tower-lords. She only steps in when conflicts escalate to the point that they become noticeable (or damaging) to the average citizen. Category:Small Cities Category:Settlements Category:Settlements in the Kaspari Empire Category:Locations Category:Locations in Chae Category:Locations in the Kaspari Empire